Reaching
by anundecidedteen
Summary: Waking to a world in which shinobi are outlasting their usefulness, and she is apparently four years older than her most recent memory, Sakura struggles to find out who she was, but what she uncovers was perhaps best left forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

**THIS IS A PROLOGUE ONLY, **

**IF I GET 5 +REVIEWS IN THE NEXT TWO HOURS, **

**I'LL UPDATE CHAPTER ONE.**

**Enjoy :)**

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Like Memories in Cold Decay

Transmissions Echoing Away

Far From the World of You and I

Where Oceans Bleed into the Sky

-The Catalyst-Linkin Park

Her conscience swam up from the darkness, soft beeps and voices pierced the cocoon of security as blissful numbness was swept away by waves of nausea, making her head ache as her eyes rolled to hold onto consciousness, fighting against the fuzzy cotton feeling, spilling between the sickness and stuffing her vision at the corners. To her left, an IV drip and empty bag of morphine hang, alerting her to severe injuries, not yet felt do to the potent drug probably still coursing through her system. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth, mentally wincing at its dryness. Looking down, she found the controller for the bed, the T.V. in the upper right corner by the bathroom, and a nurse call, on the white blanket, smoothed perfectly over her legs. Lifting a tired finger, she pressed the red button with a standard nursing hat painted on.

She only had to wait three minutes before Shizune quickly opened the door and made her way to her side with relief in her eyes.

"Sakura," she breathed, "we were so worried." The girl in the bed rolled her tongue around again.

"Ice." She croaked, even the one syllable ignited flames down her throat. The older woman nodded before poking her head out the door and relaying the demand. Soon a cup of the frozen water was thrust into the woman's hands, and she approached Sakura once more, slipping two chips between the chapped lips.

A repetition of this action three times occurred before Sakura spoke comfortably. "What happened to me?"

The woman grasped her hand with a comforting squeeze and smile. "You were sent on a retrieval mission, and you didn't make it out without encountering opposition." The pinkette nodded at the information, a mission being the source of her injuries was expected. "You suffered a punctured lung, broken leg, dislocated shoulder, and some internal bleeding."

Another nod indicated her processing of the information. To suffer so many injuries must mean that she fought continuously after sustaining most of them. Pride swelled inside her chest. It was probably the punctured lung or bleeding that eventually stopped her. "How long have I been here for?"

She shoved another ice chip into her recovering mouth and sucked on it as the woman replied. "Forty days." That was good. If her coma lasted more than two months, there was a great chance that she would have lost the function of her legs, but barely over a month meant that she would more than likely suffer no more than shaky legs.

The sound of the door clicking open drew the two females' attention, and what revealed itself stopped Sakura's breathing.

"Oh Sasuke, I didn't expect you so soon. I was simply informing her of her injuries." Sakura's green gaze, focused solely on the black depths of his own was marred by a frowning brow. Her head swiveled back to the medic, who went around the bed to check her vitals. "I suspect that you should be able to go home sometime tomorrow afternoon with everything healed up."

Green eyes darted from the woman to wearily watch the approach of the man to her bed. A hand stretched to rest on the top of her head, she shrunk away from the contact with a slight whimper, eliciting a confused expression on the man before her, and drawing Shizune's attention.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" Frantic eyes spun towards her.

"Shizune, what is he doing here?" Confused chocolate eyes darted above her head, towards the traitor on her other side before they returned to the girl's frightened gaze. Her mouth parted slightly before she finally spoke.

"Sakura, how old are you?" Feared comprehension started to dawn on her and she whispered her response with trepidation, the woman's reaction confirming her suspicions.

"Sixteen and a half."

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**So, this is going to be, probably a short, mystery and I don't know what ending yet, so as I go along, I'll probably let you people choose. Remember five reviews, and I'll update today.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, Just to clear up some confusion, Sakura was injured on a mission like Shizune told her, and she was in a coma for 40 days. She now has amnesia and has no memory from the time span of some point when she was sixteen to the present.**

**Hope that clears some stuff up, and tell me what you think. :)**

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Sakura let out a breath of relief once she encountered the blinding fluorescent lights again. Shizune retracted her hands from the top of her head with a sigh, and Sakura waited for the diagnosis. She could probably already guess it herself: No memory of the mission, an excepted and not so crazy- well he wasn't trying to kill anyone at the moment- Sasuke sitting in the hospital chair, a little reserved from the bed, and a Shizune informing her that she was twenty and a half years old- a full four years from her last memory of going turning over in her sleeping bag late at night in a crowded tent somewhere in Shimogkure. She could still smell the blood and wet mud around her.

"Well, there is obvious trauma in the front left temporal lobe, but no hemorrhaging." She rested her index finger lightly on the approximate area on Sakura's forehead. "Paired with your lack of memory, it seems that you are experiencing retrograde amnesia. We hadn't checked before since there was no outside damage to the head, no bleeding, bumps, or even discoloration, so everything was assumed to be fine." She sighed once more upon conclusion.

Sakura blinked slowly, taking in the fact that four years had passed without her knowledge, well in her present state of mind. Anything could have happened, who was she now? What had she accomplished? And most importantly, why was Sasuke there?

Sakura pushed a hand up to her face, the questions making her head pound as it had the entire previous day.

"Will she remember anything?" The deep voice snapped her weary eyes open immediately. It was the first time he had spoken, he had left the day before with only a look and without a word, and the sound put her body in high alert. Her heart rate increased, breathing picked up, and her stomach clenched.

**Fear.**

Apparently she was the only one affected, for Shizune simply answered the question, "There is a possibility that they will be lost, but most amnesia patients of this kind eventually recover their memories. It could take hours, days, months, or even years, but most do come back." Sakura let out a deep breath slowly. That was good news, maybe then she wouldn't experience this weary around Sasuke. Her last memory was of him, crazed and bloody, trying to kill Naruto after she failed. It was only natural she had this reaction around him.

She cleared her parched throat, "Where is Naruto?" A smile stretched across the medic's face at the question. Relief filled the girl- woman- at the sight. He was okay, they were all okay.

"He's probably doing some paperwork," a sour face replaced the bright expression, "or avoiding it." Sakura giggled, understanding the allusion.

"He's Hokage." The statement was one filed with joy. Her best friend, her brother, had achieved his dream. Pride filled her chest. "Can I go see him?"

A shuffling sound of someone standing sounded behind her. Her body tensed in reaction. "It would be best if we go home." Sakura looked pleadingly up at the woman before her, but to her dismay, Shizune only nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it would be best for you to go straight home and become more accustomed, I'll go sign your discharge papers now."

With that, she exited the room, and Sakura was left alone with the boy she had previously loved, the boy who was a psychotic killer the last she knew. Hesitantly, she turned to look at him. He was standing by her bed once more, obviously waiting recognition. She licked her lips.

"So, we live together." It was obvious since he was the first informed of her awaking, and from the way they spoke of taking her home. His dark eyes stared at her, as impassive as ever. She began to fidget with the blanket at her waist.

"Married." Shock filled her chest as her green eyes widened at the revelation. What could have possibly possessed her to marry him?

Her brows drew down as she scanned him for some indication of feelings. Her eyes ran over his features, more defined, yet so much the same. His shoulders were broader and he was at least three inches taller, making him about five ten. She could not discern any of his emotions, that hadn't changed she thought with an internal sigh.

"Oh." Was the only thing she could think to say as she dropped her gaze to her fiddling hands. It was silent, and the atmosphere was suffocating. Who was she? It was the question that rang out above the others. Obviously they had won the war, and apparently Sasuke was cleared of all charges and somewhat more stable. At this thought, her eyes shifted towards him before refocusing on the white bedspread.

But why did she marry him? Did she love him? Did he love her? Well, he cared enough to come when she awoke, but what was their relationship like? Who else had changed? Who was alive?

Again the questions made her head spin, and she placed her cool hand on her heated face.

"I treat you well." At this statement, Sakura looked back at him, wide-eyed. Sasuke's face redirected itself to the eastern wall, away from her. For some reason, this statement gave her a little reassurance. She didn't know why exactly, it was simply the word of a criminal who made her body scream to get away from, but there was another part of her, the part that always ached for him, that filled contently.

No matter if he loved her or she loved him, he cared enough to give her at least offer this one small statement. She wondered if the older Sakura knew this.

A small smile spread across her face in thanks.

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After a half an hour of wobbling around her room, paranoid that her hospital gown was going to open and she would moon everyone in the room, her legs were steady enough so she could walk without fear of falling. Soon, she found herself traversing the roads to her apparent home, right next to Sasuke.

Her heart still pounded unsteadily by being beside him, but in the few hours of waking up, she was able to ignore it for the most part. At the moment, she was frantically gazing at everything around her in wonder.

Kohona had rebuilt, and it was vastly different. It seemed as if nothing remained the same, the hospital wasn't even in the same location as the old one. Of course building was still going on, which told her that the war must have lasted at least a few months after that night in the tent, trying to ignore the smell of blood and wet earth.

She had missed so much.

Turning her attention back to the boy- man- beside her, she debated asking him the question at the tip of her tongue. He could easily be angry at her, she hardly knows him after all; it was old Sakura that married him for whatever purpose, not her. But she wanted to know, so before she could stop herself, she asked,

"Sasuke." His eyes slid to hers, and for the first time, she noticed that they were different. The information made her frown in thought before he raised his eyebrow at her, a sign from their childhood that she recognized easily. Mentally shaking her head, she digressed. "How," a pause, "if it's too personal I understand, but how did you come back?"

As soon as the question was completely out, she regretted it. This was not a topic to discuss on the road, but still, she needed to know. This phenomenon was the most important one to her teenage life, and she had missed it.

His eyes had returned to the road ahead of them during her questioning, and he gave no indication of answering. After a full minute, Sakura began biting her lower lip, knowing she went too far. She redirected her gaze to the open road before them. It led to what looked like a more developed residential area that, in her time, was just trees beyond the wall that surrounded the city. She could see the new wall about a half a mile in the distance. Her gawking caused her to miss a step, and she stumbled sharply, but before she could hit the ground, a strong arm shot out and stopped her descend. The force of her chest hitting the muscular object knocked the air out of her, and Sakura instinctively wrapped her hands around his wrist and bicep before righting herself and quickly releasing him.

With a red face, she gazed sideways at him to see that he was once again staring at her passively. She muttered her gratitude before he began walking again.

"What is the last memory you have of me?" She answered immediately.

"The day you killed Danzo; Naruto told you that you would fight to the death, and you disappeared." Due to her downward gaze, she was privy to the tightening of his fists in his pockets.

"I fought Naruto towards the end of the war." For a moment she wasn't sure what he was talking about before she made the connection between her question five minutes before and his breaking of the silence. She listened intently. "You foolishly got into the way, and I eliminated you." A pang of disappointment went through her as her gaze lowered to her feet. She had only gotten in the way, as usual with them, and was easily defeated.

Oblivious to her inner turmoil, he continued. "Naruto thought I killed you. I thought-", he paused and when she looked quickly up at him, he shook his head. "He was angry enough to attack me with no reservations then. Of course he went on about how much you loved me and everyone her cared about me, and how I was being an ass." She smiled fondly down at her sandals at thought of Naruto's typical behavior. "But, then he went on to say how I was betraying everyone, and though I thought I had no feelings left, it struck me.

"From there, I fought with more vigor, fought against him and the words that were corrupting my thoughts, my drive. But he was better and he knocked me on my back." Her he scoffed at the words that had just come out of his mouth before his expression turned to one that was more reminiscing, she could only guess that he was remembering that day, seeing it as clearly as the road before them. A lot like how she was able to see the night he left, the first time she saw him after, and the events of the day she saw what he had become.

"I turned my head, and I saw you." Shock filled her system and she fought the urge to jump. "I saw you lying in the dirt, beaten and pale, but you were alive. You opened your eyes, and you stared at me in such a way that even as Naruto pounded on me repeatedly, I kept refocusing on you." He rotated his head to look at her, not knowing that her heart was wracking her rip cage with a vengeance. "And I surrendered and came back."

His expression was still impassive, but the story had affected her to the utmost degree.

She cleared her throat. "Thank you, Sasuke."

Only a few minutes after that, Sasuke brought them to a stop in front of a two story house. Scanning it, Sakura decided that it wasn't that much different than her parents home, maybe a little bigger, but it held the same standard structure except for the balcony above the door.

She turned to him with a small smile. "It's nice." He nodded before proceeding to the door and opening it. Sakura took a deep breath and marched forward, entering behind Sasuke. Stopping in the main hallway after removing her shoes, Sakura examined her surroundings. The right opened to a good-sized living room, and the left has a plain wall that ran down the left of the stairs that turned right halfway up and disappeared into darkness. She followed the hallway down, past the stairs to discover a door set right behind them that opened to a washroom. She was now in a little square area that, besides the door to the washroom, was made up of Shoji doors. She slid each one open to find that across from the washroom was the kitchen, Set at a small diagonal was the dinning room, and the far wall was a group of doors that opened to what looked like a dojo. Sakura quietly made these observations before turning around and making her way to the living room, where Sasuke sat, waiting for her.

He looked up when she entered, and she offered a smile. "It's a very nice home." It was her home, she decorated it and lived here with Sasuke, yet it seemed so empty. It made the itch of wanting to know who she was, grow enough to make her want to squirm. After a moment, in which she shifted from her left to her right foot uncomfortably, Sakura decided to join Sasuke and sat on the couch with him, at the far end, but it was close enough.

She slid her hands over her thighs, a nervous habit of hers that she thought she had kicked; oblivious of Sasuke's following of her actions out of the corner of his eye. She continued to take in her surroundings, noting how all the walls were the same dull white, and there was no picture in sight. Her face frowned, what a boring house.

"Sakura," the sound of her name in the ringing silence startled her, and she jumped slightly, causing Sasuke to pause before continuing, "there is something I need to tell you."

Her head tilted to the side in invitation, but before he could speak, the doorbell rang. Both of their heads turned in the direction of the front door. Sakura was internally curious and hopeful, maybe it was Naruto. She looked back at Sasuke, whose features had arranged themselves into a scowl before he rose from the couch, gave her a look that meant stay put, and made his way to greet the caller.

Sakura bit her bottom lip in anticipation. She heard the door open and a few words exchanged softly. Disappointment slightly dampened her expectations, and her mouth twitched down at the knowledge that it wasn't Naruto about to burst into the room, but the expression was merely a twitch, and her face returned to normal as she waited to see who it was. In the next moment, Ino rounded the corner.

The anxious waiter rose to her feet, stunned. "Ino,…you look beautiful!" She stared facinated as a white smile made its way across her friend's perfect features. She had developed even more than when they were sixteen, and her hair shone wonderfully in a mass that reached passed her bottom. A spark of jealously went through Sakura, old Sakura had kept her hair short, but the spark was quickly washed away in happiness for her friend.

"Me?" The blonde laughed in dismissal with a wave of her hand, obviously updated on the status of Sakura's memory, "Have you seen yourself forehead?" The pinkette paused to think about it and discovered that, no; she had not seen what her older self looked like. The want to quickly made itself known, but she pushed it back to focus on the matter at hand.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you pig," here the blonde mocked a glare that Sakura ignored, "but why are you here?" The smile returned.

"Because you woke up silly; we were worried about you." Sakura smiled softly back at her friend before scoffing with a haughty look.

"As if anything terrible would happen to me. I was awesome at sixteen and I bet I'm even more awesome now." Her fake superiority was met with a sound of disbelief.

"As if, I have had to save your butt more times than I can count." The girls- women- laughed at their antics. After a moment, Ino sobered with a smile and a serious look in her blue eyes. Sakura mimicked the look. "There is someone you I have for you to meet."

Curious, green eyes turned themselves to the entryway once more, where Sasuke emerged with an object in his arms. Her brows tilted down for a moment before recognition set in, and as Sasuke stopped before her, Sakura took an involuntary step backwards. Black eyes did not miss the action, but he didn't comment. Sakura refused to look down as her heart rate steadily climbed.

She was unaware as her breathing picked up and became audible. Her eyes stayed glued on Sasuke's. Softly he spoke. "Sakura, this is Arashi, our son."

She held her breath as the sentence registered. Arashi meant storm. She thought that complimented Sasuke's techniques quite well and wondered if it was he who named the child. Then, swallowing thickly, she looked down at the baby as Sasuke placed it in her arms.

It felt awkward holding it, and as she stared at the sleeping face, her panic increased. This was Sasuke's baby; there wasn't a trace of her in it. The nose, the mouth set, even his hair was Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, not her baby. Suddenly, the eyes snapped open, dark orbs staring directly at her before its face contorted into a wide frown, and then a shriek erupted from it.

Sakura jumped at the earsplitting sound. The small body stretched out of her arms as the back bowed. Green eyes widened. "Take it, take it, I don't want it." Her frantic eyes turned from Ino's shocked expression to Sasuke's slightly angry one.

"Please, just take it!" Her plead was on par with the child's screams, and Sasuke stiffly lifted the baby out of her arms. A sigh of relief escaped without her notice and she took a step back.

As soon as the baby was in the arms of its father, it started to calm, proving to Sakura that it wasn't her baby. It might have been old Sakura's baby, but not hers. Sakura raised her right palm to hot face as she took another unconscious step backwards.

She was only sixteen.

That was the last thought she had before she blacked out.

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**So I know the main plot is all cliche, but hopefully I'll be able to put in enough twists to make it interesting. Till next time :)**


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